The Gulf states have hatched a plan with Israel to rehabilitate Assad as a counterweight to Turkish ambition

Mossad chief Yossi Cohen met Saudi, Emirati and Egyptian officials last month to discuss ways to counter Turkish regional influence, sources say But an official with knowledge of the meeting said that the intelligence officials were told: "Trump had done what he could and was not going to do more." The officials also agreed at the meeting that they considered Turkey, rather than Iran, to be their major military rival in the region, and discussed plans to counter Ankara's influence. The Israelis told the meeting that Iran could be contained militarily, but that Turkey had a far greater capability. In the meeting Cohen is reported to have said: "Iranian power is fragile. The real threat comes from Turkey." To tackle these issues, those present at the meeting agreed four measures.